(If you haven't read part 1, go ahead and read it first; otherwise, this'll all seem crazy.)
So, we've established that, to borrow a phrase from Green Girl, "Raising kids well and keeping a safe and clean haven is a noble job." But many women, including the two of us, still have trouble reconciling the whole concept with our view of what it means to be a modern woman.
Where does the re-emergence of the housewife leave us? As modern women, we can't afford to limit ourselves to being housewives with aspirations for nothing else. (Honestly, women never could. How many women stayed with abusive men for the sake of food and a roof?) And seriously, does it really take all day to keep a house clean once the kids are in school?
I understand that housewives do the bulk of the volunteer work in our communities, and I appreciate their shelving library books, organizing the science fair, and folding church bulletins. But with modern conveniences, how hard is it really to keep house?
My grandmother washed clothes with a wringer, clothesline, and iron, had a tiny gas-powered refrigerator, washed dishes by hand, and fed the scraps to the chickens. She shopped when she could drive my grandfather to work -- because she had learned to drive. Back then, everyone heated their houses with coal, so dusting and sweeping was serious work. The kitchen floor had to be scrubbed with a brush. And she cooked. All the time. There was no fast food, no Tuna Helper, no frozen pizza. She knew my grandfather's job was to bring home the bacon in the depression era, and her job was to make ends meet. She sewed all their clothes, mended what was torn, and still had time to look lovely for church on Sundays. She was awesome.
I use a washer and dryer on my permanent press clothes. I rinse my dishes into the Disposall and drop them in the dishwasher. I cook with Teflon pans. I shop when I want to at the huge grocery store around the corner, and and then put weeks' worth of food in my freezer. I damp mop my no-wax floor with a Swiffer.
As far as actual housecleaning, I have a big burst of activity in the morning, a few chores on my lunch break, a little tidying up, and a serious hour of housecleaning in late afternoon. After dinner, I watch The News Hour and blog. At 8:30 the kids get baths, and I'm done. My grandmother would have killed for this life.
And she would have been bored and dissatisfied. Where's the solution to that?
4 comments:
Aha! There lies the rub. The current models are a) throw yourself in to hobbies and volunteering and work to take the edge off the boredom and b) make housekeeping HARDER and more time consuming, ala Martha Stewart.
Eew. Please let there be an option C...
Housekeeping is tough job, then and now, but you're forgetting a few things. 1. The kids HAD to help out. There was no other option. Kids worked. Period. Even if they were in school, which wasn't what it is now, they didn't have the homework we do now, either, and they came home and worked. Our kids are soft ;) 2. They had fewer clothes. If I had all the clothes I have now and had to wash them the old way, it would take three days. They did everything in one day. Washing happened once a week. Period. 3. There was a weekly meal rotation, if you were lucky. Diversity was unheard of. I have a cookbook from the early 1920s, and it revolves around about 10 ingredients. Lunch ("dinner") was the big meal of the day and supper was often leftovers or sandwiches, maybe soup from a bone. There were plenty of housewives who didn't cook often or well. They (or their kids) ate at the neighbors' houses a lot. Sometimes they did favors in return, like doing the mending or washing. 4. They made 'bees' for everything. Sewing and quilting bees, canning bees, etc. They firmly believed in being together as much as possible. AND 5. STANDARDS WERE DIFFERENT! That's the big one. If you had 12 kids, you delegated as much as possible, did what you could, and tossed up your hands and said "SCREW IT!" to the rest! :D (Now, all that said, what my excuse is, I have no idea.)
So true. We're sometimes our worst enemies. My grandmother had two children, and I don't believe she ever touched an after-dinner dish once they turned five. ;)
And I would love to lower the expectations on "what's for dinner". *sigh*
Post a Comment